‘Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism’ (published in Social Research, 1952) is indeed one of Hans Jonas... more ‘Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism’ (published in Social Research, 1952) is indeed one of Hans Jonas’ most famous essays, to which its author reserved very deep attention during his philosophical career. As a former pupil of Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann, Jonas started to deal with religious topics, and specifically with Gnosticism, from the very outset of his philosophical career in the 1920s. After gaining recognition thanks to his remarkable philosophical-existential interpretation of Gnosticism, he returned to the modern age and its philosophical characters. Principally, Jonas discovered that modern philosophy up to Heidegger and Sartre suffered from a peculiar spiritual disease – namely, nihilism – that he had already traced in ancient Gnosticism and that he intended to reject. Therefore, Jonas’ acquaintance with ancient religion and thinking gave him a deep insight into the modern age and provided him with a first glimpse of what was later to become his biological philosophy. However, whoever could imagine that the idea of tracing similarities between Gnosticism and modern thinking came to Jonas at the beginning of 1950 from the famous philosopher and biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy? In this article, I shall endeavour to demonstrate this thesis by quoting from unpublished documents. However, I shall also try to prove that Jonas did not follow von Bertalanffy’s advice completely. The overall aim is, therefore, both to highlight the origins of an essential turning point in the thinking of Hans Jonas, and, on such a basis, to outline the innovation and originality of his philosophical contribution.
Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, 2016
According to Hans Jonas (1903–1993), the modern technological progress endowed humanity with wond... more According to Hans Jonas (1903–1993), the modern technological progress endowed humanity with wondrous power, which in the long run risks altering the nature of human action. This is especially true for the realm of collective action, the effects of which evidence an unpredicted issue: the ecological crisis, which is the “critical vulnerability” of nature to technological intervention. This discovery brings to light that the whole biosphere of the planet has been added to that which human beings must be responsible for because of their power over it. There is, however, a further dimension of vulnerability (and responsibility) to be considered, namely the one which characterizes organic life as such. Indeed, the essence of all living organisms–human beings included–is characterized by vulnerability, given their precarious and unstable condition of “needful freedom” towards the environment. Nevertheless, terrestrial life flourished through a multifaceted and unplanned (thus, again, vulnerable) evolution of living forms, ranging from bacteria to human beings – these evidencing a unique degree of freedom, which Jonas refers to as a “metaphysical gap” towards other living beings. The problem is that the present-day technology provides the possibility to manipulate the very essence of life and human nature. Is this process to be accepted and accomplished? And what about the related risks? Indeed, according to Jonas, issues such as genetic manipulation, euthanasia, organ transplantation, assisted reproduction, exploitation of other living beings etc., raise ethical dilemmas which can be addressed thanks to the idea of vulnerability. This notion has, according to Jonas, a metaphysical background, which he describes as follows: in the beginning, the Divine chose to give itself over to the chance, risk and endless variety of becoming. In order that the world (and life, and human freedom) might be, God renounced his own being, divesting himself of his deity. Thanks to this mythical account, the previous levels of vulnerability (concerning nature, life, and human nature) gain further clarification as signs of something sacrosanct.
In this article, I endeavour to present the philosophical reasons for Hans Jonas’ dislike of cert... more In this article, I endeavour to present the philosophical reasons for Hans Jonas’ dislike of certain tendencies of biotechnological development aiming at ameliorating the human being. According to Jonas, there are sound reasons why human beings should avoid playing God and refrain from using science and technology to ‘recreate’ their own being. Rather than simply discussing the issue from either a consequentialist or a deontological point of view, Jonas opts for a more resourceful and imaginative way to prevent the human being’s reification or deterioration, by focusing simultaneously on the human being’s vulnerability and higher potential.
It is generally acknowledged that Hans Jonas’ ethical reflections advocate conservation, and this... more It is generally acknowledged that Hans Jonas’ ethical reflections advocate conservation, and this is especially due to the potentially disruptive effects of current technological developments to terrestrial life. What I would like to clarify is that the accomplishment of these new ethical tasks entails preserving a particular ‘quality’ of terrestrial life, which expresses itself in the human being’s eidetic and reflective freedom and in the essentially related capability of being responsible. This specificity relies on life’s teleological dynamism, while at the same time being capable of somehow transcending and perhaps even negating it. In an era of rampant technological and economic development, the latter possibility would result in the loss of life’s higher potential. Finding effective ways to avert this threat is Jonas’ main philosophical concern. In order to fully comprehend these statements it is of paradigm importance to take a closer look at Jonas’ anthropology, where the notion of ‘image’ plays a unique role.
The word "utopia" was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in... more The word "utopia" was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in his Utopia, first published in 1516. Following the example of Plato's Republic, More as well as other thinkers and writers of the 16 th and 17 th century reflect on the political relevance of utopia and provide unique accounts of ideal, just, and perfect "no places", as paradigms and standards of social, political, and religious reformation of the coeval world. However, the political significance of utopia relies on a basic anthropological feature, which incidentally is already underlined by More: the relationship between imagination and experience. This means that: 1) the human being's "eidetic" freedom is characterised by the inseparable relationship between imagination, reflection, experience and action; 2) utopia is capable of disclosing the transformative and normative features related to the human being's constitution; 3) utopia can be fruitfully used to motivate human will and mobilise support for human flourishing. In this article I endeavour to show that among contemporary philosophers it is Hans Jonas who most fully develops the anthropological significance of utopia by investigating the very relationship between imagination and experience, and by underlining how the eidetic and reflective constitution of the human being leads to ethics. As a further goal, I wish to highlight that the anthropological relevance of utopia can shed light on our imaginative and ambivalent nature, and provide a practical and educational basis for the achievement of an "ethics of images" for the current digital era. For this purpose I shall draw on the thinking of Marie-José Mondzain and Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, among other scholars.
Présentation Comment comprendre la double affirmation de Jonas selon laquelle toute chose réelle ... more Présentation Comment comprendre la double affirmation de Jonas selon laquelle toute chose réelle est corporelle, mais que le corps n'épuise pas l'être. En affirmant que la vie est préoccupation de soi et de son propre être, il décrit en effet une intériorité et dès lors une subjectivité à l'oeuvre au sein de la vie, en deçà de la conscience du monde et de la conscience de soi du sujet humain. Or, à cet intérêt des vivants pour eux-mêmes et pour leur manière de vivre, doit correspondre, affirme-t-il, un intérêt dans la nature totale des choses. Par conséquent, Jonas entend combattre les réductionnismes qui menacent une interprétation de la vie, du corps et de la nature, mais aussi les conceptions dualistes d'un esprit séparé de toute dimension corporelle. Cette thèse est foncièrement liée à une méthode : accorder une priorité au témoignage de notre expérience plutôt que de la soupçonner. Dès lors, il faut rendre compte des dimensions objectives et subjectives, spirituelles et matérielles, intérieures et exté-rieures à partir de la question du corps vivant et vécu comme processus biface d'objectivation et de subjectivation. C'est en effet comme partie non indifférente et consciente du tout que nous, les humains, pouvons interpréter chaque vie et chaque action dans le monde. Nous avons mené une étude de ce lien entre la vie, le corps et l'image à partir de cette voie moyenne qui conteste tout dualisme et tout réductionnisme. L'image (eidos) à cet égard apparaît aussi comme preuve objective de la dimension spirituelle subjective qui ne cesse de traverser les corps vivants. Pour Jonas, dépasser le dualisme sans adopter une perspective réductionniste suppose donc de ne penser la distinction entre spirituel et corporel ni sur le mode de la séparation, ni sur celui de l'opposition. Notre recherche se situe dans la deuxième génération de la réception de Hans Jonas, et ce à deux égards. D'abord, l'exploitation des archives personnelles de Jonas à l'Université de Constance 1 permet de découvrir 1 Voir à ce sujet le site des archives : https://www.kim.uni-konstanz.de/en/phil-archiv/the-collections/hans-jonas/
"Exploring the Security Landscape: Non-Traditional Security Challenges", Masys, Anthony J. (Ed.), 2016
What are a country’s traditional and non-traditional security challenges? How are these being dis... more What are a country’s traditional and non-traditional security challenges? How are these being discussed and by whom? What is the relevance of security, ethics and human rights to these issues? Questions like these are often addressed in security policies. Yet to date an overview of these concerns does not exist. Research conducted within the project EvoCS fills this gap. This chapter presents an overview of these perceptions across the Netherlands, Serbia and the UK and provides a description of the methodology. The majority of the salient security challenges in all three countries are also prominent in the EU policy discourse. In conclusion, the three analysed countries are surprisingly similar to each other, considering the many differences between them. From a European point of view, this might be seen as an opportunity since future European Security Strategies can better address shared security problems of both EU and (possible future) non-EU members.
The article tackles the plural and evolving concepts of security by analyzing their relation to h... more The article tackles the plural and evolving concepts of security by analyzing their relation to human rights and ethics. Although the general impression is that seldom the security discourse is associated with the respect of human rights and ethics, indeed at least from a theoretical point of view security is indeed intertwined with those normative features (first thesis). Moreover, ethics and human rights can be valuably and usefully employed to clarify issues related to security and eventually to suggest improvements in the political management of security issues (second thesis). We argue our theses by focusing on a case study of particular relevance to the present day debate on security: the Syrian asylum seekers headed to Europe. In our ethical and human rights enquiry into this case study we consider multiple aspects related to security (‘de jure’ or normative, ‘de facto’ and perceptive-societal) and the interpretative lens provided by ethics and human rights sheds light on the crucial and manifold centrality played by the notion of human dignity.
Hans Jonas’ “philosophical biology,” although developed several decades ago, is still fundamental... more Hans Jonas’ “philosophical biology,” although developed several decades ago, is still fundamental to the contemporary reflection upon the meaning of life in a systems thinking perspective. Jonas, in fact, closely examines the reasons of modern science, and especially of Wiener’s Cybernetics and Bertalanffy’s General System Theory, and at the same time points out their basic limits, such as their having a reductionistic attitude to knowledge and ontology. In particular, the philosopher highlights the problematic consequences of scientific reductionism for human nature. As the final result of an overall process of naturalization, the essence of the human being is reduced to its quantitative features only, while the “meaning” of life as such becomes no different from the “fact” of its material consistency. However, the problem is that by such a process, the human being is deprived of his specificity.
The article endeavours to compare the reflections on the Shoah of two of the most celebrated inte... more The article endeavours to compare the reflections on the Shoah of two of the most celebrated intellectuals of Jewish origin of the 20th century, namely the German philosopher Hans Jonas (1903-1993) and the Soviet writer Vasily Grossman (1905-1964). Both Jonas’ essay on The Concept of God after Auschwitz (1987) and Grossman’s novels and reports, such as The Hell of Treblinka (1944), Life and Fate (1980), and The Sistine Madonna (1989), are characterised by a thorough enquiry into the ambivalence of the human condition, that tries to shed some light on the disturbing abyss of Auschwitz and the Shoah. Although neither Jonas nor Grossman considered themselves as religious believers, thanks to the Shoah they recollected their Jewish roots and developed peculiar and innovative thoughts on the meaning and vulnerability of life, human freedom, immortality, and God. The article endeavours to highlight the main similarities and differences between these two authors, who tackled the issue of thinking after Auschwitz.
My proposal focuses on the role played by the «image of the human being» in the philosophy of Han... more My proposal focuses on the role played by the «image of the human being» in the philosophy of Hans Jonas. This expression highlights the human being’s distinctiveness: it is indeed thanks to the image that the human being acquires a unique degree of distance and freedom from the world, which then develops into reflective self-awareness. However, thanks to these features, the human being achieves the unprecedented capacity of stretching to the limit the dialectical dynamic of freedom and necessity, autonomy and dependence, self and world, transcendence and immanence, immutability and change, viz. the very dynamic on which humans after all rely. In other words, human freedom cherishes the thought of disposing of this dynamic basis, regardless of the fact that this would result in self-negation. It is in order to avert this menace that the image’s second attribute has to be put forward – an attribute which is indeed endowed with normative relevance: the human being – states Jonas – lives and performs his «outward conduct after the image of what is man’s». Thus, apart from distantiating and separating, the image is also capable of connecting. It is thanks to this feature that human freedom recovers its relationship with total reality. Indeed, Jonas’ ethics stems from a bio-anthropological enquiry pivoted on the image-experience, whose core features and ethical relevance I wish to clarify. Besides, I shall endeavour to highlight the importance of the «image of the human being» in critically assessing risks related to the current use of technology.
The article deals with present day challenges related to the employ of technology in order to red... more The article deals with present day challenges related to the employ of technology in order to reduce the exposition of the human being to the risks and vulnerability of his or her existential condition. According to certain transhumanist and posthumanist thinkers, as well as some supporters of human enhancement, essential features of the human being, such as vulnerability and mortality, ought to be thoroughly overcome. The aim of this article is twofold: on the one hand, we wish to carry out an enquiry into the ontological and ethical thinking of Hans Jonas, who was among the first to address these very issues with great critical insight; on the other hand, we endeavour to highlight the relevance of Jonas’ reflections to current challenges related to bioscience and biotechnological progress. In this regard, we believe that the transcendent and metphyisical relevance of the «image of man» introduced by Jonas is of paramount importance to understand his criticism against those attempts to ameliorate the human being by endangering his or her essence.
In this paper we offer an overall account of the complex and multilayered Italian reception of Ha... more In this paper we offer an overall account of the complex and multilayered Italian reception of Hans Jonas’ philosophy, with an eye to its specific features compared to what happened elsewhere. After an introductory foreword the paper is structured in four sections and a brief conclusion, each of which deals with a peculiar aspect of Jonas’ thought: ethics and bioethics, philosophical biology and ontology of life, gnostic and religious studies, studies in the history of philosophy. In the final section we sum up the overall meaning of the «Wirkungsgeschichte» of Jonas’ philosophy in Italy and highlight possible lines of research still to be accomplished.
According to Alexander von Humboldt, geography ought to aim to go beyond the modern attitude of s... more According to Alexander von Humboldt, geography ought to aim to go beyond the modern attitude of seeing knowledge as being the result of a spatial and temporal abstraction from the real world. Von Humboldt wishes to create a new theory of knowledge, one that instead of just simplifying, schematizing, and categorizing reality is able to highlight its multiple meanings, its diversity of perspectives, and its hermeneutical keys. Von Humboldt’s project strives to achieve a universal cognition of the world (or a universal geography) by claiming the centrality of the experience of landscape. This is evidence for von Humboldt’s far-sightedness, since he anticipated the present day trend of considering landscape as a corner stone of interdisciplinary enquiries into the meaning of the world.
Anna Granata, Graziano Lingua, Paolo Monti [a cura di] ; "Culture vive : Saggi di filosofia e pedagogia delle relazioni interculturali", Celid, Torino (ISBN : 9788867891467), 2019
"ENCICLOPEDIA DI BIOETICA E SCIENZA GIURIDICA", a cura di E. Sgreccia e A. Tarantino, vol. 10, pp. 916-944., 2016
Sommario: 1. Introduzione. – 2. Dalla responsabilità per le conseguenze alla responsabilità come ... more Sommario: 1. Introduzione. – 2. Dalla responsabilità per le conseguenze alla responsabilità come principio. – 3. Responsabilità, futuro e dignità umana.
The article assumes that Lipman's paradigm of 'Philosophy for Children' (P4C) as a 'Community of ... more The article assumes that Lipman's paradigm of 'Philosophy for Children' (P4C) as a 'Community of Inquiry' (CI) is very useful in extending the range of philosophical practices and the benefits of philosophical community reflection to collective life as such. In particular, it examines the possible contribution of philosophy to the practical and ethical dynamics which, nowadays, seem to characterise many deliberative public contexts. Lipman's idea of CI is an interesting interpretative key for such contexts. As a result, the article highlights the possibility of understanding a CI essentially in terms of an ethics of responsibility.
http://www.appa.edu/journal.htm
‘Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism’ (published in Social Research, 1952) is indeed one of Hans Jonas... more ‘Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism’ (published in Social Research, 1952) is indeed one of Hans Jonas’ most famous essays, to which its author reserved very deep attention during his philosophical career. As a former pupil of Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann, Jonas started to deal with religious topics, and specifically with Gnosticism, from the very outset of his philosophical career in the 1920s. After gaining recognition thanks to his remarkable philosophical-existential interpretation of Gnosticism, he returned to the modern age and its philosophical characters. Principally, Jonas discovered that modern philosophy up to Heidegger and Sartre suffered from a peculiar spiritual disease – namely, nihilism – that he had already traced in ancient Gnosticism and that he intended to reject. Therefore, Jonas’ acquaintance with ancient religion and thinking gave him a deep insight into the modern age and provided him with a first glimpse of what was later to become his biological philosophy. However, whoever could imagine that the idea of tracing similarities between Gnosticism and modern thinking came to Jonas at the beginning of 1950 from the famous philosopher and biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy? In this article, I shall endeavour to demonstrate this thesis by quoting from unpublished documents. However, I shall also try to prove that Jonas did not follow von Bertalanffy’s advice completely. The overall aim is, therefore, both to highlight the origins of an essential turning point in the thinking of Hans Jonas, and, on such a basis, to outline the innovation and originality of his philosophical contribution.
Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, 2016
According to Hans Jonas (1903–1993), the modern technological progress endowed humanity with wond... more According to Hans Jonas (1903–1993), the modern technological progress endowed humanity with wondrous power, which in the long run risks altering the nature of human action. This is especially true for the realm of collective action, the effects of which evidence an unpredicted issue: the ecological crisis, which is the “critical vulnerability” of nature to technological intervention. This discovery brings to light that the whole biosphere of the planet has been added to that which human beings must be responsible for because of their power over it. There is, however, a further dimension of vulnerability (and responsibility) to be considered, namely the one which characterizes organic life as such. Indeed, the essence of all living organisms–human beings included–is characterized by vulnerability, given their precarious and unstable condition of “needful freedom” towards the environment. Nevertheless, terrestrial life flourished through a multifaceted and unplanned (thus, again, vulnerable) evolution of living forms, ranging from bacteria to human beings – these evidencing a unique degree of freedom, which Jonas refers to as a “metaphysical gap” towards other living beings. The problem is that the present-day technology provides the possibility to manipulate the very essence of life and human nature. Is this process to be accepted and accomplished? And what about the related risks? Indeed, according to Jonas, issues such as genetic manipulation, euthanasia, organ transplantation, assisted reproduction, exploitation of other living beings etc., raise ethical dilemmas which can be addressed thanks to the idea of vulnerability. This notion has, according to Jonas, a metaphysical background, which he describes as follows: in the beginning, the Divine chose to give itself over to the chance, risk and endless variety of becoming. In order that the world (and life, and human freedom) might be, God renounced his own being, divesting himself of his deity. Thanks to this mythical account, the previous levels of vulnerability (concerning nature, life, and human nature) gain further clarification as signs of something sacrosanct.
In this article, I endeavour to present the philosophical reasons for Hans Jonas’ dislike of cert... more In this article, I endeavour to present the philosophical reasons for Hans Jonas’ dislike of certain tendencies of biotechnological development aiming at ameliorating the human being. According to Jonas, there are sound reasons why human beings should avoid playing God and refrain from using science and technology to ‘recreate’ their own being. Rather than simply discussing the issue from either a consequentialist or a deontological point of view, Jonas opts for a more resourceful and imaginative way to prevent the human being’s reification or deterioration, by focusing simultaneously on the human being’s vulnerability and higher potential.
It is generally acknowledged that Hans Jonas’ ethical reflections advocate conservation, and this... more It is generally acknowledged that Hans Jonas’ ethical reflections advocate conservation, and this is especially due to the potentially disruptive effects of current technological developments to terrestrial life. What I would like to clarify is that the accomplishment of these new ethical tasks entails preserving a particular ‘quality’ of terrestrial life, which expresses itself in the human being’s eidetic and reflective freedom and in the essentially related capability of being responsible. This specificity relies on life’s teleological dynamism, while at the same time being capable of somehow transcending and perhaps even negating it. In an era of rampant technological and economic development, the latter possibility would result in the loss of life’s higher potential. Finding effective ways to avert this threat is Jonas’ main philosophical concern. In order to fully comprehend these statements it is of paradigm importance to take a closer look at Jonas’ anthropology, where the notion of ‘image’ plays a unique role.
The word "utopia" was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in... more The word "utopia" was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in his Utopia, first published in 1516. Following the example of Plato's Republic, More as well as other thinkers and writers of the 16 th and 17 th century reflect on the political relevance of utopia and provide unique accounts of ideal, just, and perfect "no places", as paradigms and standards of social, political, and religious reformation of the coeval world. However, the political significance of utopia relies on a basic anthropological feature, which incidentally is already underlined by More: the relationship between imagination and experience. This means that: 1) the human being's "eidetic" freedom is characterised by the inseparable relationship between imagination, reflection, experience and action; 2) utopia is capable of disclosing the transformative and normative features related to the human being's constitution; 3) utopia can be fruitfully used to motivate human will and mobilise support for human flourishing. In this article I endeavour to show that among contemporary philosophers it is Hans Jonas who most fully develops the anthropological significance of utopia by investigating the very relationship between imagination and experience, and by underlining how the eidetic and reflective constitution of the human being leads to ethics. As a further goal, I wish to highlight that the anthropological relevance of utopia can shed light on our imaginative and ambivalent nature, and provide a practical and educational basis for the achievement of an "ethics of images" for the current digital era. For this purpose I shall draw on the thinking of Marie-José Mondzain and Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, among other scholars.
Présentation Comment comprendre la double affirmation de Jonas selon laquelle toute chose réelle ... more Présentation Comment comprendre la double affirmation de Jonas selon laquelle toute chose réelle est corporelle, mais que le corps n'épuise pas l'être. En affirmant que la vie est préoccupation de soi et de son propre être, il décrit en effet une intériorité et dès lors une subjectivité à l'oeuvre au sein de la vie, en deçà de la conscience du monde et de la conscience de soi du sujet humain. Or, à cet intérêt des vivants pour eux-mêmes et pour leur manière de vivre, doit correspondre, affirme-t-il, un intérêt dans la nature totale des choses. Par conséquent, Jonas entend combattre les réductionnismes qui menacent une interprétation de la vie, du corps et de la nature, mais aussi les conceptions dualistes d'un esprit séparé de toute dimension corporelle. Cette thèse est foncièrement liée à une méthode : accorder une priorité au témoignage de notre expérience plutôt que de la soupçonner. Dès lors, il faut rendre compte des dimensions objectives et subjectives, spirituelles et matérielles, intérieures et exté-rieures à partir de la question du corps vivant et vécu comme processus biface d'objectivation et de subjectivation. C'est en effet comme partie non indifférente et consciente du tout que nous, les humains, pouvons interpréter chaque vie et chaque action dans le monde. Nous avons mené une étude de ce lien entre la vie, le corps et l'image à partir de cette voie moyenne qui conteste tout dualisme et tout réductionnisme. L'image (eidos) à cet égard apparaît aussi comme preuve objective de la dimension spirituelle subjective qui ne cesse de traverser les corps vivants. Pour Jonas, dépasser le dualisme sans adopter une perspective réductionniste suppose donc de ne penser la distinction entre spirituel et corporel ni sur le mode de la séparation, ni sur celui de l'opposition. Notre recherche se situe dans la deuxième génération de la réception de Hans Jonas, et ce à deux égards. D'abord, l'exploitation des archives personnelles de Jonas à l'Université de Constance 1 permet de découvrir 1 Voir à ce sujet le site des archives : https://www.kim.uni-konstanz.de/en/phil-archiv/the-collections/hans-jonas/
"Exploring the Security Landscape: Non-Traditional Security Challenges", Masys, Anthony J. (Ed.), 2016
What are a country’s traditional and non-traditional security challenges? How are these being dis... more What are a country’s traditional and non-traditional security challenges? How are these being discussed and by whom? What is the relevance of security, ethics and human rights to these issues? Questions like these are often addressed in security policies. Yet to date an overview of these concerns does not exist. Research conducted within the project EvoCS fills this gap. This chapter presents an overview of these perceptions across the Netherlands, Serbia and the UK and provides a description of the methodology. The majority of the salient security challenges in all three countries are also prominent in the EU policy discourse. In conclusion, the three analysed countries are surprisingly similar to each other, considering the many differences between them. From a European point of view, this might be seen as an opportunity since future European Security Strategies can better address shared security problems of both EU and (possible future) non-EU members.
The article tackles the plural and evolving concepts of security by analyzing their relation to h... more The article tackles the plural and evolving concepts of security by analyzing their relation to human rights and ethics. Although the general impression is that seldom the security discourse is associated with the respect of human rights and ethics, indeed at least from a theoretical point of view security is indeed intertwined with those normative features (first thesis). Moreover, ethics and human rights can be valuably and usefully employed to clarify issues related to security and eventually to suggest improvements in the political management of security issues (second thesis). We argue our theses by focusing on a case study of particular relevance to the present day debate on security: the Syrian asylum seekers headed to Europe. In our ethical and human rights enquiry into this case study we consider multiple aspects related to security (‘de jure’ or normative, ‘de facto’ and perceptive-societal) and the interpretative lens provided by ethics and human rights sheds light on the crucial and manifold centrality played by the notion of human dignity.
Hans Jonas’ “philosophical biology,” although developed several decades ago, is still fundamental... more Hans Jonas’ “philosophical biology,” although developed several decades ago, is still fundamental to the contemporary reflection upon the meaning of life in a systems thinking perspective. Jonas, in fact, closely examines the reasons of modern science, and especially of Wiener’s Cybernetics and Bertalanffy’s General System Theory, and at the same time points out their basic limits, such as their having a reductionistic attitude to knowledge and ontology. In particular, the philosopher highlights the problematic consequences of scientific reductionism for human nature. As the final result of an overall process of naturalization, the essence of the human being is reduced to its quantitative features only, while the “meaning” of life as such becomes no different from the “fact” of its material consistency. However, the problem is that by such a process, the human being is deprived of his specificity.
The article endeavours to compare the reflections on the Shoah of two of the most celebrated inte... more The article endeavours to compare the reflections on the Shoah of two of the most celebrated intellectuals of Jewish origin of the 20th century, namely the German philosopher Hans Jonas (1903-1993) and the Soviet writer Vasily Grossman (1905-1964). Both Jonas’ essay on The Concept of God after Auschwitz (1987) and Grossman’s novels and reports, such as The Hell of Treblinka (1944), Life and Fate (1980), and The Sistine Madonna (1989), are characterised by a thorough enquiry into the ambivalence of the human condition, that tries to shed some light on the disturbing abyss of Auschwitz and the Shoah. Although neither Jonas nor Grossman considered themselves as religious believers, thanks to the Shoah they recollected their Jewish roots and developed peculiar and innovative thoughts on the meaning and vulnerability of life, human freedom, immortality, and God. The article endeavours to highlight the main similarities and differences between these two authors, who tackled the issue of thinking after Auschwitz.
My proposal focuses on the role played by the «image of the human being» in the philosophy of Han... more My proposal focuses on the role played by the «image of the human being» in the philosophy of Hans Jonas. This expression highlights the human being’s distinctiveness: it is indeed thanks to the image that the human being acquires a unique degree of distance and freedom from the world, which then develops into reflective self-awareness. However, thanks to these features, the human being achieves the unprecedented capacity of stretching to the limit the dialectical dynamic of freedom and necessity, autonomy and dependence, self and world, transcendence and immanence, immutability and change, viz. the very dynamic on which humans after all rely. In other words, human freedom cherishes the thought of disposing of this dynamic basis, regardless of the fact that this would result in self-negation. It is in order to avert this menace that the image’s second attribute has to be put forward – an attribute which is indeed endowed with normative relevance: the human being – states Jonas – lives and performs his «outward conduct after the image of what is man’s». Thus, apart from distantiating and separating, the image is also capable of connecting. It is thanks to this feature that human freedom recovers its relationship with total reality. Indeed, Jonas’ ethics stems from a bio-anthropological enquiry pivoted on the image-experience, whose core features and ethical relevance I wish to clarify. Besides, I shall endeavour to highlight the importance of the «image of the human being» in critically assessing risks related to the current use of technology.
The article deals with present day challenges related to the employ of technology in order to red... more The article deals with present day challenges related to the employ of technology in order to reduce the exposition of the human being to the risks and vulnerability of his or her existential condition. According to certain transhumanist and posthumanist thinkers, as well as some supporters of human enhancement, essential features of the human being, such as vulnerability and mortality, ought to be thoroughly overcome. The aim of this article is twofold: on the one hand, we wish to carry out an enquiry into the ontological and ethical thinking of Hans Jonas, who was among the first to address these very issues with great critical insight; on the other hand, we endeavour to highlight the relevance of Jonas’ reflections to current challenges related to bioscience and biotechnological progress. In this regard, we believe that the transcendent and metphyisical relevance of the «image of man» introduced by Jonas is of paramount importance to understand his criticism against those attempts to ameliorate the human being by endangering his or her essence.
In this paper we offer an overall account of the complex and multilayered Italian reception of Ha... more In this paper we offer an overall account of the complex and multilayered Italian reception of Hans Jonas’ philosophy, with an eye to its specific features compared to what happened elsewhere. After an introductory foreword the paper is structured in four sections and a brief conclusion, each of which deals with a peculiar aspect of Jonas’ thought: ethics and bioethics, philosophical biology and ontology of life, gnostic and religious studies, studies in the history of philosophy. In the final section we sum up the overall meaning of the «Wirkungsgeschichte» of Jonas’ philosophy in Italy and highlight possible lines of research still to be accomplished.
According to Alexander von Humboldt, geography ought to aim to go beyond the modern attitude of s... more According to Alexander von Humboldt, geography ought to aim to go beyond the modern attitude of seeing knowledge as being the result of a spatial and temporal abstraction from the real world. Von Humboldt wishes to create a new theory of knowledge, one that instead of just simplifying, schematizing, and categorizing reality is able to highlight its multiple meanings, its diversity of perspectives, and its hermeneutical keys. Von Humboldt’s project strives to achieve a universal cognition of the world (or a universal geography) by claiming the centrality of the experience of landscape. This is evidence for von Humboldt’s far-sightedness, since he anticipated the present day trend of considering landscape as a corner stone of interdisciplinary enquiries into the meaning of the world.
Anna Granata, Graziano Lingua, Paolo Monti [a cura di] ; "Culture vive : Saggi di filosofia e pedagogia delle relazioni interculturali", Celid, Torino (ISBN : 9788867891467), 2019
"ENCICLOPEDIA DI BIOETICA E SCIENZA GIURIDICA", a cura di E. Sgreccia e A. Tarantino, vol. 10, pp. 916-944., 2016
Sommario: 1. Introduzione. – 2. Dalla responsabilità per le conseguenze alla responsabilità come ... more Sommario: 1. Introduzione. – 2. Dalla responsabilità per le conseguenze alla responsabilità come principio. – 3. Responsabilità, futuro e dignità umana.
The article assumes that Lipman's paradigm of 'Philosophy for Children' (P4C) as a 'Community of ... more The article assumes that Lipman's paradigm of 'Philosophy for Children' (P4C) as a 'Community of Inquiry' (CI) is very useful in extending the range of philosophical practices and the benefits of philosophical community reflection to collective life as such. In particular, it examines the possible contribution of philosophy to the practical and ethical dynamics which, nowadays, seem to characterise many deliberative public contexts. Lipman's idea of CI is an interesting interpretative key for such contexts. As a result, the article highlights the possibility of understanding a CI essentially in terms of an ethics of responsibility.
http://www.appa.edu/journal.htm
This book explores the contribution to education contained in the theoretical work and teaching p... more This book explores the contribution to education contained in the theoretical work and teaching practice of Matthew Lipman (1923-2010) and Ann Margaret Sharp (1942-2010). Their long-lasting cooperation gave rise to the well-known “Philosophy for Children” (P4C) curriculum, which is nowadays globally widespread. P4C basically relies on the following innovations: firstly, the unprecedented connection between philosophy and childhood; secondly, the reframing of philosophy in practical, viz., not reductively theoretical terms; thirdly, the employment of philosophy to foster democracy and moral capabilities through the development of children’s thoughtfulness and autonomous thinking, which would eventually result in empowering children’s social abilities and increasing their self-defence against consumerism, propaganda, and manipulation; finally, the stand against a strictly cognitivist approach to education. More than just contextualizing these innovations in the coeval historical and social context, the author shows that P4C’s revolutionary stance on education relies on the fruitfulness of Lipman and Sharp’s intellectual cooperation and on their manifold abilities as researchers, teachers, trainers, communicators, motivators, and community-builders. The book analyzes their philosophical-educational vision and the scholastic curriculum they developed jointly; additionally, it provides a critical appraisal of P4C’s achievements as well as of its future perspectives.
Il volume cerca di ricostruire – avvalendosi anche di fonti inedite – il significato complessivo ... more Il volume cerca di ricostruire – avvalendosi anche di fonti inedite – il significato complessivo della cosiddetta “biologia filosofica” elaborata da Hans Jonas a partire dagli anni Quaranta e pubblicata in The Phenomenon of Life. Toward a Philosophical Biology (1966) e nella sua rielaborazione tedesca Organismus und Freiheit. Ansätze zu einer philosophischen Biologie (1973). La biologia filosofica si presenta come l’ambito di elezione per un’interpretazione organica, ma non univoca del pensiero jonasiano. Di particolare rilevanza è in tal senso la questione storico-filosofica del dualismo, che Jonas recepisce a partire dagli studi sulla gnosi e ribalta sulla contemporaneità. Proprio per far fronte agli effetti devastanti del dualismo sulla comprensione del fenomeno della vita, Jonas procede a una “rivoluzione ontologica” che restituisca alla vita e all’uomo la loro specificità, identificata con il principio della libertà. Le successive riflessioni etiche sul concetto di responsabilità troveranno pertanto qui il loro fondamento.
This book deals with the relevance of community-based philosophical practices to individual and s... more This book deals with the relevance of community-based philosophical practices to individual and social empowerment. The authors analyze if it is possible for the inclusive dialogue between people of diverse backgrounds in informal adult education to benefit from the community practice of philosophy. They discuss if the latter can offer a contribution to individual, community and social empowerment. They make use of the dialogical methodology linked to M. Lipman and A.M. Sharp’s “Philosophy for Children”. The book aims at achieving a critical lens for the analysis and assessment of community practices and for envisioning further possibilities of philosophical inquiry.
An attempt to understand the thinking of the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) as both a ... more An attempt to understand the thinking of the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) as both a forerunner and a critic of present day ontological and ethical nihilism.
Hans Jonas, "Heidegger e la teologia" (traduzione, cura e introduzione di Roberto Franzini Tibaldeo), 2004
The paper is the introduction to the Italian translation of Hans Jonas' essay on "Heidegger and T... more The paper is the introduction to the Italian translation of Hans Jonas' essay on "Heidegger and Theology" (1964)
Come è andato strutturandosi il cosmo dal disordine all’ordine, un movimento che sembra contraddi... more Come è andato strutturandosi il cosmo dal disordine all’ordine, un movimento che sembra contraddire le leggi della fisica? Quale principio evolutivo può spiegare il modo in cui la realtà terrestre si è sviluppata fino alle forme più sofisticate del mondo organico? Come giustificare una tendenza che, pur scaturendo dalla materia, in essa non si esaurisce ma rinvia a una dimensione trascendente? Precisi interrogativi sono inanellati da Hans Jonas in questo saggio apparso nel 1988. Domande che scandagliano le origini della natura e dell’uomo: è lo scenario nel quale si inscrive la scelta primordiale dello spirito creatore di rinunciare alla propria onnipotenza in favore dell’autonomia cosmica. Riconducendo alla dialettica fra “libertà” e “responsabilità”, Jonas mostra qui l’originalità di una prospettiva, lontana tanto dall’evoluzionismo quanto dalle più recenti teorie dell’intelligent design, tutta da riscoprire.
Questo saggio, di cui un primo abbozzo in lingua inglese venne pubblicato da Jonas nel 1976, dove... more Questo saggio, di cui un primo abbozzo in lingua inglese venne pubblicato da Jonas nel 1976, doveva essere collocato in un punto nodale del celebre Il principio responsabilità (1979), costituendone così il preambolo. In esso Jonas intendeva ribadire la realtà e l’efficacia causale della libertà dell’uomo dinanzi alla tendenza della tecno-scienza a plasmare la realtà naturale come se tale dimensione “interiore” non esistesse. Punto di partenza, la condizione – delineata da Cartesio agli albori della modernità – di un dualismo irrisolto tra corpo e anima, secondo Jonas ancora operante a livello residuale nelle concezioni etiche e scientifiche contemporanee. Sviluppando questo discorso, Jonas si rese conto che Il principio responsabilità avrebbe toccato soltanto marginalmente la questione del rapporto tra “spirito” (o anima) e corpo, che invece meritava una più ampia trattazione. Egli decise pertanto di ampliare l’excursus e di farlo vivere autonomamente. La tesi di fondo – che viene peraltro discussa mediante argomenti, tuttora attuali, desunti dalla meccanica quantistica – è che la scienza moderna si trova di fronte a un dilemma da essa stessa creato, in virtù di cui lo “spirito” o è qualche cosa di incompatibile con la dimensione corporea, oppure è un ornamento inutile di quest’ultima, una manifestazione superficiale del dualismo cartesiano che per Jonas non ha ragione di essere: al contrario, fra “spirituale” e “corporeo” sussiste una reale interazione che, mantenendo la distinzione di tali dimensioni, non li pone tuttavia in opposizione. Insomma, una soluzione filosofica al tradizionale problema psicofisico con cui discipline quali la cibernetica, le scienze cognitive e le neuroscienze, nonché le più recenti scoperte nel campo dell’intelligenza artificiale, farebbero bene a confrontarsi.
M. Lipman, "L'impegno di una vita: insegnare a pensare", 2018
In questo scritto Matthew Lipman racconta, con stile autobiografico, il suo percorso di ricerca f... more In questo scritto Matthew Lipman racconta, con stile autobiografico, il suo percorso di ricerca filosofico, esistenziale e politico che lo ha condotto a creare il progetto della Philosophy for Children. Attraverso questo testo si intrecciano ricordi, idee e riflessioni dell’autore che, a partire dall’infanzia sino a giungere all’età adulta, hanno creato il tessuto teorico e pratico del suo impegno filosofico. Si tratta di un’occasione preziosa per approfondire le potenzialità emancipative offerte dalla Philosophy for Children.
Frutto di una ricerca che si è avvalsa di materiali d'archivio venuti alla luce solo dopo il coll... more Frutto di una ricerca che si è avvalsa di materiali d'archivio venuti alla luce solo dopo il collasso dell'Unione Sovietica, "Le ossa di Berdicev" è una vivida ricostruzione della vita di uno degli scrittori più importanti e ignorati del XX secolo. Nella vicenda personale di Grossman si riflettono alcune pagine decisive della storia del secolo appena concluso. Da intellettuale pavido e asservito alle linee del partito, Grossman diventa il coraggioso volontario dei reportages della battaglia di Stalingrado e lo scrittore scomodo di "Vita e destino", un romanzo così "pericoloso" da costringere le autorità sovietiche dell'epoca di Krusciov a sequestrare il libro e a "seppellire vivo" il suo autore.
Il saggio di Frank Ellis, disponibile in Italia grazie a questa edizione realizzata dall'autore p... more Il saggio di Frank Ellis, disponibile in Italia grazie a questa edizione realizzata dall'autore per Marietti, viene a colmare una mancanza. A fronte di romanzi di guerra sovietici e russi già studiati o tradotti, ciò che ancora mancava era una monografia interamente dedicata alla letteratura sovietica basata sulle esperienze della Seconda guerra mondiale o della Grande guerra patriottica. "La spada e la penna" si intrecciano così nelle pagine di autori conosciuti o sconosciuti al pubblico italiano (Vasilij Grossman, Vasil' Bykov, Viktor Astaf'ev, Jurij Bondarev, Viktor Nekrasov...) dove il ricordo di un passato dominato da dolorose contraddizioni viene rappresentato e oggettivato. Come nota l'autore, la letteratura sovietica di guerra e la successiva letteratura russa riflettono l'intera gamma delle esperienze umane dinanzi alla guerra: il coraggio, la morte, il tradimento, la paura, la codardia morale e fisica, lo sfinimento, l'orrore, la crudeltà, l'incompetenza, la brutalità, la depravazione umana, il comportamento più sublime dinanzi alla ferocia del Male e la sofferenza più inimmaginabile. Nonostante gli sforzi del Partito e della censura, infatti, i temi affrontati non si limitarono agli aspetti ufficialmente approvati. Il potere non fu cioè in grado di mantenere o imporre totalmente la sua interpretazione ideologica.
Il volume raccoglie i risultati di uno studio interdisciplinare sul paesaggio locale condotto nel... more Il volume raccoglie i risultati di uno studio interdisciplinare sul paesaggio locale condotto nel 2007 in provincia di Cuneo.
Il volume cerca di ricostruire – avvalendosi anche di fonti inedite – il significato complessivo ... more Il volume cerca di ricostruire – avvalendosi anche di fonti inedite – il significato complessivo della cosiddetta “biologia filosofica” elaborata da Hans Jonas a partire dagli anni Quaranta e pubblicata in The Phenomenon of Life. Toward a Philosophical Biology (1966) e nella sua rielaborazione tedesca Organismus und Freiheit. Ansätze zu einer philosophischen Biologie (1973). La biologia filosofica si presenta come l’ambito di elezione per un’interpretazione organica, ma non univoca del pensiero jonasiano. Di particolare rilevanza è in tal senso la questione storico-filosofica del dualismo, che Jonas recepisce a partire dagli studi sulla gnosi e ribalta sulla contemporaneità. Proprio per far fronte agli effetti devastanti del dualismo sulla comprensione del fenomeno della vita, Jonas procede a una “rivoluzione ontologica” che restituisca alla vita e all’uomo la loro specificità, identificata con il principio della libertà. Le successive riflessioni etiche sul concetto di responsabilità troveranno pertanto qui il loro fondamento.
An attempt to understand the thinking of the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) as both a ... more An attempt to understand the thinking of the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) as both a forerunner and a critic of present day ontological and ethical nihilism.
Il principio responsabilità di Hans Jonas venne pubblicato esattamente 40 anni fa, al termine di ... more Il principio responsabilità di Hans Jonas venne pubblicato esattamente 40 anni fa, al termine di un decennio in cui la questione ecologica era stata posta e discussa con una certa urgenza e sistematicità. A partire da quel momento nessun attore politico, economico o sociale ha più potuto ignorare la questione, anche se si è fatto di tutto per evitare che essa rimanesse troppo a lungo tra le priorità delle agende politiche nazionali e internazionali, priorità che pure le spetterebbe di fatto e probabilmente anche di diritto. I fermenti ecologici e ambientali odierni (su tutti il movimento "Fridays for Future" e gli attuali partiti ecologisti di respiro transnazionale) hanno il merito di avere riportato in auge la questione, evidenziando come il futuro della vita sulla Terra necessiti di una mobilitazione dal basso e di decisori politici coraggiosi e determinati, che siano in grado di reindirizzare in senso più ecologico la tecno-economia globale, divenuta nel frattempo digitale e algoritmica. Il principio responsabilità di Hans Jonas ha il merito di aver saputo anticipare con grande lucidità l'intrico di questioni legate alla tutela della biosfera terrestre: dall'individuazione della novità dell'agire tecnico-economico contemporaneo, alla "vulnerabilità critica" della natura all'intervento umano, alla responsabilità collettiva dell'umanità, alla responsabilità specifica di politici e scienziati, alla necessità che si diffonda una coscienza ecologica e un "senso di responsabilità" per il futuro, all'urgenza di questioni pedagogiche e politiche connesse alla crisi ecologica. Nel mio intervento cercherò di sottolineare come l'opera jonasiana offra stimoli etici, politici e pedagogici di cui abbiamo bisogno per affrontare la complessità delle sfide ambientali odierne.
BUILDING BRIDGES / TRA LE DUE SPONDE. L’EDUCAZIONE INTERCULTURALE ALL’EPOCA DEI NUOVI FONDAMENTALISMI - BUILDING BRIDGES / BETWEEN THE BANKS. INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE AGE OF RESURGENT FUNDAMENTALISM, a cura di M. Giusti, Uni MIlano-Bicocca, ISBN 978-88-96689-71-4, May 26, 2016
Draft programme of the congress to be held on 26 May 2016 @ the University of Milano Bicocca. My ... more Draft programme of the congress to be held on 26 May 2016 @ the University of Milano Bicocca. My presentation will be on the following topic: "Valorizzazione delle diversità, empowerment interculturale e comunità di ricerca filosofica. Resoconto di un’esperienza scolastica / Appreciating diversities, intercultural empowerment, and communities of philosophical enquiry in the light of recent scholastic projects".
Fin dalle proprie origini risalenti all’epoca moderna e, in particolare, all’ambito pittorico, il... more Fin dalle proprie origini risalenti all’epoca moderna e, in particolare, all’ambito pittorico, il concetto di paesaggio evidenzia una peculiare complessità. Esso è infatti una rappresentazione in grado, al tempo stesso, di giocare un ruolo politico di primaria importanza (cfr. il celebre Affresco del Buono e Cattivo Governo di Ambrogio Lorenzetti, 1337-1339): l’ordine e l’armonia del paesaggio raffigurato riflettono infatti l’ordine etico-politico e l’armonico sviluppo economico imposto dal signore locale. Il paesaggio raffigurato è dunque l’espressione simbolica e trasfigurata del potere politico. In aggiunta a ciò, esso funge anche da efficace auto-rappresentazione – con valore di monito – commissionata dallo stesso potere costituito: è un’immagine che pretende di assurgere a simbolo e norma etico-politica; un’immagine, dunque, che non solo ritrae il mondo reale, ma che avrebbe la pretesa in un certo senso di ricrearlo; un’immagine che ambisce allo status di “immaginario” e che esprime in forma simbolica il senso del legame sociale. Ebbene, complici alcuni fenomeni caratteristici della modernità e della tarda modernità, questa feconda complessità del paesaggio pare sia andata esaurendosi. Questa deriva non è però inevitabile e il presente contributo vorrebbe in qualche modo sondare la possibilità di recuperare la centralità politica ed etica del paesaggio in funzione di una riassunzione critica di nozioni come “immaginario” e “legame sociale”.
Due sono le tesi di fondo che vorrei illustrare. In primo luogo, vorrei evidenziare in che senso ... more Due sono le tesi di fondo che vorrei illustrare. In primo luogo, vorrei evidenziare in che senso la nozione di paesaggio sia non solo dotata di un intrinseco valore etico e politico, ma offra una chiave interpretativa per fare luce sulle dinamiche socio-economiche, politiche e culturali che investono e trasformano i luoghi in cui si giocano le nostre esistenze, e in particolare le Alpi. In questo senso, la vocazione essenzialmente interdisciplinare del paesaggio può elevarlo a efficace strumento di sintesi e riflessione critica circa le ragioni e le modalità dell’abitare, nonché di orientamento per le azioni di pianificazione territoriale. In secondo luogo, vorrei evidenziare le ragioni per cui l’anima etico-politica del paesaggio abbia buone chance di risultare feconda per un ripensamento della prassi politica democratica. Ritengo infatti che una rimeditazione di quest’ultima alla luce del binomio di responsabilità e partecipazione offra prospettive e strategie innovative per affrontare il problema della deterritorializzazione contemporanea, che ha interessato e tuttora interessa in modo particolare le zone alpine, e per conseguire un modello di sviluppo più equilibrato, sostenibile e giusto.
Se davvero – come credo – la questione paesaggistica è rilevante per la vitalità della convivenza democratica, l’impegno per il paesaggio deve diventare questione, in senso lato, culturale, civica e politica, cioè deve trovare radicamento in un processo che preveda la partecipazione di ciascuno e coinvolga la responsabilità di ciascuno. Perché sia efficace, il progetto deve infatti essere condiviso e partecipato quantomeno dall’insieme dei soggetti che detengono un interesse (i cosiddetti stakeholder), per arrivare a coinvolgere a seconda dei casi la cittadinanza intera. Laddove ciò non è accaduto, non accade o non accadrà, a poco è valso, vale o varrà avere una buona legislazione in materia: sono infatti fin troppo evidenti l’inefficacia, le criticità e i limiti degli interventi di tutela, valorizzazione e gestione del paesaggio calati unilateralmente «dall’alto». Ciò che occorre fare per ridare vita a molti dei nostri paesaggi – ivi compresi quelli alpini – divenuti inospitali e procedere alla loro adeguata valorizzazione (anche in senso economico ed ecologico) è contribuire a una ricostruzione del tessuto sociale e pubblico, che preveda la compartecipazione di «alto» e «basso».
From 12 to 17 September 2016 in Cuneo (Italy) took place the 9th edition of the international Sum... more From 12 to 17 September 2016 in Cuneo (Italy) took place the 9th edition of the international Summer School organized by the Centro Studi sul Pensiero Contemporaneo (CeSPeC). The event revolved around the topic of the “future”, which was analysed from different interdisciplinary perspectives and gave rise to stimulating conversation. In this introduction we provide an overview of the topic and of the reflections stemming from that event.
The 2016 edition of the Summer School organised by Cespec (www.cespec.it) focuses on the theme of... more The 2016 edition of the Summer School organised by Cespec (www.cespec.it) focuses on the theme of the future, which shall be examined from an interdisciplinary perspective. Undergraduates and postgraduates can apply for scholarships, which are dispensed in the form of a partial reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Candidates may also apply for presenting a brief paper of their own. Further details are available at the following link: http://www.cespec.it/?project=progetto-2.
The lectures are integrated into the teaching and research activities of the Joint-PhD in “Histor... more The lectures are integrated into the teaching and research activities of the Joint-PhD in “History and Forms of Transcendental Philosophy”, established in 2019 between the postgraduate programme in philosophy of the PUCPR and the Department of Human Sciences of the University of Ferrara, and of the “Cátedra Hans Jonas”, also established in 2019 at the PUCPR. The series of lectures aims to explore and discuss critically the notion of life in modern and contemporary philosophy. Since at least the German idealism, the idea of life and its manifestation in nature are the focus of an in-depth enquiry, which endeavours to clarify the development of the organism, as well as the origins of matter, and understands life as the hidden and implicit force in every rational human performance. These ideas are deepened in the contemporary discussion, which especially in recent years is intertwined with the technological-environmental challenges. These require a renovated and multidimensional gaze, such as the paradigm of ecological transition, capable of holding together different levels of action (local, regional, national, international, global), a plurality of scientific disciplines (human, social, natural sciences, and techniques), different stakeholders and agents (politicians, NGOs, enterprises, institutions, etc.). The aim is to achieve a broader and intersectional approach to problems related to life, nature, and the environment. Philosophy can contribute to the establishment of a new ecological “ethos”, by strengthening the reflective capacities of individuals and communities. The lectures aim to clarify the concept of life throughout the history of modern and contemporary philosophy (from Kant to contemporary philosophy), as well as to analyse relevant relationships between life, nature, and the environment, which include the following: climate change, environmental and intergenerational justice, ecological transition, environmental embodiment and political challenges, environmental democracy, subjectivity and forms of life (plants, animals, humans).
The lectures are integrated into the teaching and research activities of the Joint-PhD in “Histor... more The lectures are integrated into the teaching and research activities of the Joint-PhD in “History and Forms of Transcendental Philosophy”, established in 2019 between the post-graduate programme in philosophy of the PUCPR and the Department of Human Sciences of the University of Ferrara, and of the “Cátedra Hans Jonas”, also established in 2019 at the PUCPR. The series of lectures aims to explore and discuss critically the notion of life in modern and contemporary philosophy. Since at least the German idealism, the idea of life and its manifestation in nature are the focus of an in-depth enquiry, which endeavours to clarify the development of the organism, as well as the origins of matter, and understands life as the hidden and implicit force in every rational human performance. These ideas are deepened in the contemporary discussion, which especially in recent years is intertwined with the technological-environmental challenges. These require a renovated and multidimensional gaze, such as the paradigm of ecological transition, capable of holding together different levels of action (local, regional, national, international, global), a plurality of scientific disciplines (human, social, natural sciences, and techniques), different stakeholders and agents (politicians, NGOs, enterprises, institutions, etc.). The aim is to achieve a broader and intersectional approach to problems related to life, nature, and the environment. Philosophy can contribute to the establishment of a new ecological “ethos”, by strengthening the reflective capacities of individuals and communities. The lectures aim to clarify the concept of life throughout the history of modern and contemporary philosophy (from Kant to contemporary philosophy), as well as to analyse relevant relationships between life, nature, and the environment, which include the following: climate change, environmental and intergenerational justice, ecological transition, environmental embodiment and political challenges, environmental democracy, subjectivity and forms of life (plants, animals, humans).
From 3 to 6 October 2022 the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR, Brazil) will host... more From 3 to 6 October 2022 the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR, Brazil) will host the XX International Congress of Contemporary Philosophy on “Philosophy in Brazil: Current Trends and Perspectives”, organized by the PUCPR’s Post-graduate Programme in Philosophy (PPGF).
This hybrid event will revolve around the concepts of independence and identity as a basis for reflecting on the current trends in Brazilian philosophy 200 years after the Country’s independence. This discussion will also focus on the theoretical, ethical, aesthetic, and political categories developed since the Modern Art Week, which took place in São Paulo in 1922. Among the themes addressed by the congress: 1) The independence and identity of Brazilian thought in relation to the modern and contemporary European philosophical tradition; 2) Brazilian philosophy in art and literature, and its current identity; 3) The public role of women and gender issues; 4) The philosophical challenges related to philosophical decolonization; 5) Cultural pluralism and indigenous identities. These topics will be presented, discussed, and deepened in an interdisciplinary perspective, thanks to the contribution of national and international experts, as well as through a mini-course on “Intellectual Independence: Art, Cinema and Literature in the classroom”. The congress aims to contribute to the achievement of an open and democratic society, as well as a pluralistic, reflective and responsible Brazilian identity for the future. The planned activities address not only the academic audience, but also the civic community in general. More information about the event (provisional programme, subscription, call for presentations) is available at the following link (https://eventum.pucpr.br/humanitasppgf).
Nel contesto attuale, segnato dalla pluralità di prospettive e dalla diversità di culture, valori... more Nel contesto attuale, segnato dalla pluralità di prospettive e dalla diversità di culture, valori, generi, generazioni è di fondamentale importanza lavorare al consolidamento e all’ampliamento delle competenze atte a gestire tale pluralità e diversità, e ciò al fine di conseguire l’inclusione sociale.
Un aiuto in tal senso può provenire dalla filosofia, in quanto pratica riflessiva in grado di suscitare pensiero critico, creativo e “caring”. Tra le pratiche filosofiche disponibili (filosofia per e con i bambini, la “philosophy for communities”, il dialogo socratico, il counseling filosofico, il caffè filosofico, ecc.) quella che mi sembra rispondere adeguatamente alla sfida interculturale è la “Philosophy for Children/Communities” (P4C) elaborata decenni or sono da Matthew Lipman e Ann M. Sharp.
La P4C offre a persone di ogni età la possibilità di fare esperienza di una ricerca comunitaria che mira a condividere, confrontare e analizzare punti di vista diversi e a co-costruire senso e significato; in breve: che mira a realizzare inclusione mediante la valorizzazione delle diversità.
Questo incontro è dedicato specificamente ad indagare insieme e sulla base della propria esperienza il senso e il valore del lavorare oggi con un orientamento all’ascolto, alla scoperta e alla valorizzazione delle diversità culturali presenti nel contesto in cui operiamo.
“VIVERE LA DEMOCRAZIA, COSTRUIRE LA SFERA PUBBLICA”. UNA SCUOLA PER LA BUONA POLITICA. 2019. Lett... more “VIVERE LA DEMOCRAZIA, COSTRUIRE LA SFERA PUBBLICA”. UNA SCUOLA PER LA BUONA POLITICA. 2019. Letture politiche del primo Novecento per l’oggi. Fondazione Basso (Roma)
Au cours des dernières décennies, les enseignant·e·s ont été exposé.e.s à des bouleversements imp... more Au cours des dernières décennies, les enseignant·e·s ont été exposé.e.s à des bouleversements importants de leurs conditions de travail, qui les confrontent à des défis éthiques parfois lourds et complexes. Les discussions et réformes en cours relatives à la formation initiale des enseignant·e·s ont ainsi révélé le besoin d'y inclure une formation à l'éthique de la profession. Si l'importance de ce besoin semble faire consensus, il paraît néanmoins aussi essentiel de s'interroger sur le sens et les finalités d'une telle formation autant que sur les formes qu'elle devrait prendre et sur les limites de ce qu'on peut en attendre. L'objectif de cette journée d'études est de rassembler des spécialistes de l'éthique et des formateurs·trices d'enseignant·e·s pour débattre autour de ces questions. Au cours de la matinée, on s'interrogera sur la nature de la « compétence éthique » que l'on devrait attendre d'un.e enseignant.e dans l'exercice de son métier. L'après-midi, on examinera les éléments qui, dans la formation initiale et dans la formation continue, peuvent contribuer à l'émergence d'une telle compétence.
La pertinence éthique, ontologique et anthropologique des notions de vie, corps et image constitu... more La pertinence éthique, ontologique et anthropologique des notions de vie, corps et image constitue le cœur de la pensée de Hans Jonas. Ce colloque voudrait interroger leur articulation pour analyser la corrélation entre le corps vivant et le monde, ainsi que la spécificité de l’humain comme producteur d’images et porteur de sa propre image. En effet, en répliquant à l’acosmisme gnostique et au nihilisme moderne, Jonas entend dépasser les ruptures qui menacent notre image de la vie au sein des utopies technologiques et des options scientifiques et politiques contemporaines. Dans sa perspective qui insiste tout à la fois sur la continuité du vivant et sur la spécificité humaine, l’image joue un rôle central et ambigu. Ainsi, le caractère sacré, historique et vulnérable de « l’image de l’homme » désigne à la fois sa portée ontologique et anthropologique, mais aussi la tentation constante de rompre avec sa condition corporelle. Celle-ci est donc au cœur des enjeux éthiques et bioéthiques contemporains, que ce soit à propos de la technologie, de la crise écologique, des manipulations génétiques, de l’amélioration du corps humain ou de la révolution numérique. L’objectif de ce colloque est triple : d’une part, clarifier les relations réciproques entre vie, corps et image dans la pensée de Hans Jonas ; d’autre part, situer sa pensée dans le contexte plus large d’une problématique phénoménologique et ontologique ; enfin, ouvrir aux enjeux éthiques, sociaux et politiques. Alors la pensée de Jonas pourrait s’avérer centrale pour les débats contemporains qui mobilisent la production d’images mentales, virtuelles et matérielles ainsi que sur les imaginaires sociaux qui tiennent compte de notre dimension corporelle à des degrés différents. En effet, un des grands défis actuels est de rendre les productions et les révolutions technologies compatibles avec la préservation de la vie et de la vie humaine sur terre.
Nel contesto attuale, segnato dalla pluralità di prospettive e dalla diversità di culture, valori... more Nel contesto attuale, segnato dalla pluralità di prospettive e dalla diversità di culture, valori, generi, generazioni è di fondamentale importanza – in ambito scolastico-educativo, ma non solo – lavorare al consolidamento e all’ampliamento delle competenze atte a gestire tale pluralità e diversità, e ciò al fine di conseguire l’inclusione sociale. Un aiuto in tal senso può provenire dalla filosofia, in quanto pratica riflessiva in grado di suscitare pensiero critico, creativo e “caring”. Tra le pratiche filosofiche disponibili (filosofia per e con i bambini, la “philosophy for community”, il dialogo socratico, il counseling filosofico, il caffè filosofico, ecc.) quella che mi sembra rispondere adeguatamente alla sfida interculturale è la “Philosophy for Children/Community” (P4C) elaborata decenni or sono da Matthew Lipman e Ann M. Sharp. La P4C offre a persone di ogni età la possibilità di fare esperienza di una ricerca comunitaria che mira a condividere, confrontare e analizzare punti di vista diversi e a co-costruire senso e significato; in breve: che mira a realizzare inclusione mediante la valorizzazione delle diversità. La prima parte dell’incontro si svolgerà secondo la modalità della P4C e consentirà ai partecipanti di sperimentare le potenzialità interculturali di tale pratica filosofica. Nella seconda parte si avrà la possibilità di scambiarsi con libertà alcune impressioni suscitate da tale esperienza.
O curso evidencia a relevância da prática da filosofia no alcance da felicidade tanto individual,... more O curso evidencia a relevância da prática da filosofia no alcance da felicidade tanto individual, como social. O curso visa abordar esse tema de quatro pontos de vista: (1) a análise histórico-filosófica da felicidade e do bem-estar; (2) a convergência entre reflexão filosófica, conduta prática e a busca do sentido existencial que se exprime no "cuidado de si"; (3) a relevância da prática filosófica para o alcance de uma disposição profissional "reflexiva" e capaz de levar à felicidade; (4) o papel da investigação filosófica no desenvolvimento de comunidades democráticas e multiculturais. Além disso, trata-se também da tematização das práticas filosóficas como plataforma de interação para um diálogo interdisciplinar entre filosofia e ciências humanas. O curso se justifica em virtude do compromisso com a identidade da Universidade que visa formar profissionais competentes em um espetro formativo amplo, interdisciplinar e abrangente. Ele, enfim, se compromete a compreender os novos problemas existenciais e sociais que assolam os indivíduos diante das tensões apresentadas pela sociedade contemporânea, procurando fornecer perspectivas e competências para minimizá-las ou solucioná-las.
O curso tem como foco a "Filosofia para Crianças", prática pedagógica e filosófica comunitária de... more O curso tem como foco a "Filosofia para Crianças", prática pedagógica e filosófica comunitária de Matthew Lipman e Ann M. Sharp, concebida nos anos 1970, e que tornou-se, atualmente, um movimento mundial, estimulando a sensatez e um espírito verdadeiramente democrático em cidadãos de todas as idades. Em particular, as atividades em sala ocorrerão em torno dos romances didáticos de Lipman e Sharp, concebidos especificamente como pretextos para o desenvolvimento de discussões comunitárias. Os objetivos centrais do curso são: a) refletir acerca da relevância do treinamento filosófico para agentes educacionais (como professores, por exemplo); b) analisar a ampla contribuição da filosofia (na forma do diálogo filosófico tendo por base comunidades) até os desafios culturais, sociais, e políticos atuais, relacionados à democracia e multiculturalismo. Por essas razões, o curso enfrentará noções como responsabilidade, diversidade, pensamento reflexivo, criativo e “cuidadoso”, e irá também considerar obras e discussões de John Dewey, Hannah Arendt, Hans Jonas, Donald Schön, Paulo Freire, Joan Tronto e Martha Nussbaum, entre outros.
Uploads
http://www.appa.edu/journal.htm
http://www.appa.edu/journal.htm
Se davvero – come credo – la questione paesaggistica è rilevante per la vitalità della convivenza democratica, l’impegno per il paesaggio deve diventare questione, in senso lato, culturale, civica e politica, cioè deve trovare radicamento in un processo che preveda la partecipazione di ciascuno e coinvolga la responsabilità di ciascuno. Perché sia efficace, il progetto deve infatti essere condiviso e partecipato quantomeno dall’insieme dei soggetti che detengono un interesse (i cosiddetti stakeholder), per arrivare a coinvolgere a seconda dei casi la cittadinanza intera. Laddove ciò non è accaduto, non accade o non accadrà, a poco è valso, vale o varrà avere una buona legislazione in materia: sono infatti fin troppo evidenti l’inefficacia, le criticità e i limiti degli interventi di tutela, valorizzazione e gestione del paesaggio calati unilateralmente «dall’alto». Ciò che occorre fare per ridare vita a molti dei nostri paesaggi – ivi compresi quelli alpini – divenuti inospitali e procedere alla loro adeguata valorizzazione (anche in senso economico ed ecologico) è contribuire a una ricostruzione del tessuto sociale e pubblico, che preveda la compartecipazione di «alto» e «basso».
This hybrid event will revolve around the concepts of independence and identity as a basis for reflecting on the current trends in Brazilian philosophy 200 years after the Country’s independence. This discussion will also focus on the theoretical, ethical, aesthetic, and political categories developed since the Modern Art Week, which took place in São Paulo in 1922. Among the themes addressed by the congress: 1) The independence and identity of Brazilian thought in relation to the modern and contemporary European philosophical tradition; 2) Brazilian philosophy in art and literature, and its current identity; 3) The public role of women and gender issues; 4) The philosophical challenges related to philosophical decolonization; 5) Cultural pluralism and indigenous identities. These topics will be presented, discussed, and deepened in an interdisciplinary perspective, thanks to the contribution of national and international experts, as well as through a mini-course on “Intellectual Independence: Art, Cinema and Literature in the classroom”. The congress aims to contribute to the achievement of an open and democratic society, as well as a pluralistic, reflective and responsible Brazilian identity for the future. The planned activities address not only the academic audience, but also the civic community in general. More information about the event (provisional programme, subscription, call for presentations) is available at the following link (https://eventum.pucpr.br/humanitasppgf).
Un aiuto in tal senso può provenire dalla filosofia, in quanto pratica riflessiva in grado di suscitare pensiero critico, creativo e “caring”. Tra le pratiche filosofiche disponibili (filosofia per e con i bambini, la “philosophy for communities”, il dialogo socratico, il counseling filosofico, il caffè filosofico, ecc.) quella che mi sembra rispondere adeguatamente alla sfida interculturale è la “Philosophy for Children/Communities” (P4C) elaborata decenni or sono da Matthew Lipman e Ann M. Sharp.
La P4C offre a persone di ogni età la possibilità di fare esperienza di una ricerca comunitaria che mira a condividere, confrontare e analizzare punti di vista diversi e a co-costruire senso e significato; in breve: che mira a realizzare inclusione mediante la valorizzazione delle diversità.
Questo incontro è dedicato specificamente ad indagare insieme e sulla base della propria esperienza il senso e il valore del lavorare oggi con un orientamento all’ascolto, alla scoperta e alla valorizzazione delle diversità culturali presenti nel contesto in cui operiamo.
En effet, en répliquant à l’acosmisme gnostique et au nihilisme moderne, Jonas entend dépasser les ruptures qui menacent notre image de la vie au sein des utopies technologiques et des options scientifiques et politiques contemporaines. Dans sa perspective qui insiste tout à la fois sur la continuité du vivant et sur la spécificité humaine, l’image joue un rôle central et ambigu.
Ainsi, le caractère sacré, historique et vulnérable de « l’image de l’homme » désigne à la fois sa portée ontologique et anthropologique, mais aussi la tentation constante de rompre avec sa condition corporelle. Celle-ci est donc au cœur des enjeux éthiques et bioéthiques contemporains, que ce soit à propos de la technologie, de la crise écologique, des manipulations génétiques, de l’amélioration du corps humain ou de la révolution numérique.
L’objectif de ce colloque est triple : d’une part, clarifier les relations réciproques entre vie, corps et image dans la pensée de Hans Jonas ; d’autre part, situer sa pensée dans le contexte plus large d’une problématique phénoménologique et ontologique ; enfin, ouvrir aux enjeux éthiques, sociaux et politiques. Alors la pensée de Jonas pourrait s’avérer centrale pour les débats contemporains qui mobilisent la production d’images mentales, virtuelles et matérielles ainsi que sur les imaginaires sociaux qui tiennent compte de notre dimension corporelle à des degrés différents. En effet, un des grands défis actuels est de rendre les productions et les révolutions technologies compatibles avec la préservation de la vie et de la vie humaine sur terre.
Un aiuto in tal senso può provenire dalla filosofia, in quanto pratica riflessiva in grado di suscitare pensiero critico, creativo e “caring”. Tra le pratiche filosofiche disponibili (filosofia per e con i bambini, la “philosophy for community”, il dialogo socratico, il counseling filosofico, il caffè filosofico, ecc.) quella che mi sembra rispondere adeguatamente alla sfida interculturale è la “Philosophy for Children/Community” (P4C) elaborata decenni or sono da Matthew Lipman e Ann M. Sharp.
La P4C offre a persone di ogni età la possibilità di fare esperienza di una ricerca comunitaria che mira a condividere, confrontare e analizzare punti di vista diversi e a co-costruire senso e significato; in breve: che mira a realizzare inclusione mediante la valorizzazione delle diversità.
La prima parte dell’incontro si svolgerà secondo la modalità della P4C e consentirà ai partecipanti di sperimentare le potenzialità interculturali di tale pratica filosofica. Nella seconda parte si avrà la possibilità di scambiarsi con libertà alcune impressioni suscitate da tale esperienza.